Super Bowl XLVII: Boisterous leadership not in Flacco's makeup

Tuesday

Jan 29, 2013 at 12:01 AMJan 29, 2013 at 9:58 AM

NEW ORLEANS - It might be hard to fathom now, considering Joe Flacco got the Baltimore Ravens to the Super Bowl with a series of exceptional playoff performances under immense pressure situations, but there was a time when his cool, calm, laid-back demeanor was looked at as a hindrance to his development as a quarterback.

NEW ORLEANS — It might be hard to fathom now, considering Joe Flacco got the Baltimore Ravens to the Super Bowl with a series of exceptional playoff performances under immense pressure situations, but there was a time when his cool, calm, laid-back demeanor was looked at as a hindrance to his development as a quarterback.

Show more emotion, his critics said. Make it look like you care. Do something, anything.

Even Ray Lewis, the unequivocal and outspoken leader in the Ravens’ locker room, has suggested that Flacco should develop a more outgoing personality, especially now that the soon-to-be-retired Lewis wants to transfer his leadership role to Flacco.

“I think Joe has a great advantage and head start to really becoming that next true leader,” Lewis said. “He kind of has to come out of his quiet shell a little bit. But Joe is definitely a great candidate for it.”

Except Joe Cool isn’t buying. He can’t change who he is. Not now, not ever.

“I haven’t worked on (being more outgoing), and don’t know if I agree with it,” Flacco said of Lewis’ suggestion. “There are a lot of different ways to lead, and the bottom line is it’s about motivating your players to get the best out of them and having the belief that you can go do it in any situation. Ray does a great job of that in his own way, and I don’t know if there’s anybody quite like him in that category.”

So why not at least try to become a more audible presence in the locker room, particularly now, when Lewis is about to exit after Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday? Simple — it’s just not him.

“To do something along the lines of the way he does it would be a mistake,” said Flacco, who has eight touchdown passes and no interceptions in three playoff games this year. “You’ve got to do it your own way, and I think naturally as you get more comfortable with people and people understand you more, and you become more confident in them, and they become more confident in you, you become more vocal as time goes on.”

Flacco will never turn into the walking sound bite Lewis has been for most of his 17-year, Hall-of-Fame career. He’s a far more understated presence, and unflappable figure on and off the field. Even if he throws an interception at a crucial time in a game, Flacco simply walks off the field, shrugs his shoulders and moves on to the next play.

“Joe is always just the same,” offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie said. “When things are good or if they’re bad, he’s even keel. I’ve been around quarterbacks who aren’t always that way, and believe me, it’s better to be like Joe. I want him to stay cool. I know it works for him.”

Flacco’s calm is occasionally misconstrued. Some fans want to see their athletes erupt in self-loathing after making a bad play — a sign that they care deeply about their craft — but Flacco doesn’t fit the profile. But that does not mean he has a lack of concern.

“Joe cares when he messes up, no doubt,” receiver Jacoby Jones said. “He may not show it, but he cares. The thing that’s great about Joe is that he doesn’t really show that he’s bothered by anything. Your quarterback is like that, you believe in him and you know he’s going to do whatever it takes to make it right.”